Mulching provides benefits for your soil and can also be used as a low maintenance accent to your yard. With so many mulch options available, it’s important to get expert advice on what’s right for your yard. As one of the top choices for Calgary Landscape Supplies, Ornamental Stone is equipped with the experience to walk you through.
Why use Mulch?
Before we get into what type of mulch to use for your landscape project in Calgary, we should go over some of the basics of mulching. While mulch is a great decorative accent, it also has many benefits when applied over soil. Some of these include:
• Soil Temperature Regulation – Mulch will help retain the temperature of your soil throughout all seasons
• Moisture Retention – Mulching will lead to better water retention in your flower and garden beds
• Weed Prevention – Mulch will help reduce the number of weeds in your garden, blocking the sun from germinating the various seeds in your soil. You can almost prevent all weed growth when paired with landscaping fabric
• Prevent erosion of soil – Mulching will prevent erosion of the soil in your gardens caused by excessive rainfall
• Soil Enrichment – Bark Mulch and Wood Chips will add nutrients to your soil as they breakdown and decompose.
Landscape Fabric, AKA “Weed Mat”
Ornamental Stone recommends putting down Landscape Fabric before applying any type of mulch. Landscape Fabric helps suppress the growth of weeds. Nobody wants to spend a day mulching their gardens or yard only to have to pull weeds every week.
When looking for landscape supplies in Calgary, be careful of plastic landscape fabric made of polyethylene. Plastic weed mat is not suitable for gardens as it will prevent moisture from getting into your soil. We also don’t recommend plastic as it is an unsustainable choice that is harsh on our environment. At Ornamental Stone Landscape Supply Calgary, we offer woven Landscape Fabric that is breathable, allowing in moisture and fertilizer.
Applying landscape fabric under accent mulch is quite easy. Simply roll out the fabric and cut it to size. You can then apply desired mulch such as bark mulch, wood chips or even decorative rock. If you are applying under a garden or planting shrubs, holes need to be cut for the plants to grow through.
Decorative Rock
Generally, when talking about mulch, we tend to think about wood chips or bark mulch. Another great option is the use of Decorative Stone, which is both a beautiful and low maintenance choice.
Decorative Rock won’t decay, reducing the need of seasonal top ups. Rock mulching is a great option around trees and shrubs. On the other hand, we wouldn’t recommend it for vegetable or flower gardens which tend to flourish from the organic materials released through the decomposition of wood. If you are looking for a stylish option to elevate your landscape design, Ornamental Stone supplies a wide variety of Decorative Rock choices.
Using Decorative Rock or Gravel is more labour intensive then Bark Mulch due to its weight. Something to consider when doing a DIY project but the overall look it usually worth the effort!
Shredded Mulch
Our two most popular choices of Bark Mulch are Pine Mulch and Cedar Mulch. These are shredded wood products and look great in any landscape project. Pine Mulch is a good value and neutral choice safe for all gardens. Cedar Mulch brings with it an amazing aroma and great aesthetic. Cedar Mulch is a natural herbicide and anti-fungal which will further prevent weed growth. Due to this, cedar is more acidic then pine, so is not suitable for all types of flowers.
Shredded Bark Mulch will decompose quicker than others, adding nutrients to your soil but also needing seasonal top ups. We also carry a composted pine and spruce mulch mixture called Montane Mulch which is a great addition to any vegetable and garden bed.
Shredded Bark Mulch is light and easy to apply, it’s just a matter of choosing what you need. Come show us your project, as experts when it comes to Landscape Supplies in Calgary, we can help determine the best choice of Bark Mulch for your project.
Bark Nuggets
Bark Nuggets are another popular landscape material in Calgary. These are actual bark nuggets and not shredded like our other types of Bark Mulch. At Ornamental Stone we supply Douglas Fir bark nuggets in various sizes. Douglas Fir is neutral and therefore safe to use around any type of annual or perennial.
If applying in an area exposed to wind, we recommend Bark Mulch over the use of shredded mulch that has the tendency to blow away. As there is less surface area being exposed to the air, Bark Nuggets will decompose slower than shredded wood mulch and therefore require less maintenance.
Coloured Wood Chips
If your looking to add a colourful accent to your garden, consider the use of Coloured Wood Chips. At Ornamental Stone Landscape Supplies, we carry both Red and Black Mulch. Be careful when purchasing this type of Mulch in Calgary as some use shredded wood pallets dyed with unsafe chemicals. This mulch will not decompose and could harm your garden. All our coloured mulches are natural pine free of harmful chemicals, colour is achieved using all-natural pigments.
Need More Info?
If you need any more information related to Mulch or Landscape Supplies in general, feel free to visit Ornamental Stone at 79 Prairie Place SE or just give us a call at 403-275-5550.